Chapter 25: The Hungry Ones!

“Hahahaha!”

Zhao Dabao couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

His eyes glinted with menace. “150 taels of silver! You really dare ask for that!”

“You should go ask Sun Zhi. After all these years as village chief, does he have the means to come up with 150 taels of silver?”

Zhao Dabao’s voice was dripping with mockery.

“It doesn’t matter!”

“Since Zhao Family Village can’t come up with it, it’s no big deal. We can write an IOU stating that, as of today, you owe us 150 taels of silver!”

“Monthly interest at three percent!”

“Pay it off as soon as you can!”

Lu Chuan spoke with a calm and friendly tone, but to Zhao Dabao, his words sounded arrogantly bold.

“Lu Chuan! Your wishful thinking is a bit too much. If you’re capable, then kill all of us right now!” Zhao Dabao stood tall and proud, like a warrior who would rather die than surrender.

Clap, clap, clap…

Lu Chuan clapped his hands, his eyes filled with admiration, then said, “Good, very good!”

“I really admire people like you, who aren’t afraid to die.”

Lu Chuan glanced at Li Yanjun, then paused before asking, “They came armed and broke into my house, intending to rob me. According to the Great Xia law, how should this be judged?”

“Hmm, death by flogging!” Li Yanjun thought for a moment before answering succinctly.

“What if, during my resistance, I accidentally killed a few people? Would I face any consequences?”

Lu Chuan tilted his head and continued asking.

He wasn’t completely familiar with the laws of Great Xia, so it was best to ask before acting.

There were ways to work within the rules, and there were ways to work outside of them.

If he didn’t want to become a bandit, then for now, he had to stay within the framework of the law and be cautious. Otherwise, if Zhou Tong found a weakness, he wouldn’t hesitate to exploit it.

“This…”

Li Yanjun scratched his head awkwardly. “I’m not sure either!”

“Ah…”

Lu Chuan sighed regretfully.

At this point, it was really not a good idea to take any further action. He didn’t want to end up making a loss himself.

“Well, anyway, injuring them isn’t a problem,” Li Yanjun added.

“Really?”

In that moment, Lu Chuan’s eyes lit up.

“Lu Chuan!”

At this moment, Zhao Dabao seemed to sense the killing intent emanating from Lu Chuan and gritted his teeth, saying, “150 taels of silver is impossible!”

“I’ll say it again. If you want to go into the mountains and hunt, that’s your choice!”

“Our Zhao Family Village has never interfered!”

Zhao Dabao said bitterly, “Why should we pay 150 taels?”

“Oh? You’ve never interfered before, but now it’s our choice?”

Lu Chuan sneered, “I remember when we first came, someone was insisting that this hunting ground belonged to Zhao Family Village. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the entire Bingzhou was under the Zhao family’s control!”

Lu Chuan’s eyes were full of mockery.

Li Yanjun seemed like he wanted to speak, but in the end, he stayed silent.

“We were wrong before; we were too arrogant. We’re willing to compensate Brother Lu for the losses!” Zhao Dabao reluctantly admitted defeat.

150 taels of silver!

Zhao Family Village could gather it, but if they did, they would be left with nothing.

Afterwards, Zhao Dabao would lose all authority in Zhao Family Village.

“I’m willing to offer 10 taels of silver!”

At this moment, Zhao Dabao gritted his teeth and said,

“This is the maximum I can do.”

Lu Chuan froze for a moment!

Damn!

Zhao Family Village is rich!

Zhao Dabao, just one man, has ten taels of silver on him when he steps out!

Lu Chuan narrowed his eyes, continuously calculating in his mind.

He guessed that this was probably all the money Zhao Dabao had on him.

“And these weapons you have… they all need to stay with me!”

Lu Chuan’s eyes flicked over them, then he spoke faintly, “These are the evidence of you bullying me when you came to my house! I’ll need to keep them around, so I can remind myself often!”

“You’re going too far!”

Zhao Dabao glared at Lu Chuan, his eyes filled with anger.

“These are the tools we use to eat!”

Lu Chuan tilted his head, then smiled and turned to Li Yanjun, “In this day and age, someone still doesn’t eat with chopsticks and bowls?”

“…”

Li Yanjun stared at Lu Chuan, a bit dazed.

It was awkward.

The joke was so cold that he didn’t know whether to laugh or not!

“Tch, boring!”

After saying this, Lu Chuan turned back to Zhao Dabao, “What are you going to do? These are your tools for eating, and now I have them. What are you going to do about it?”

“You really think I’m some kind of saint?”

A murderous intent flashed in Lu Chuan’s eyes.

Zhao Dabao, who often traversed the mountains, sensed the change in the air and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Lu Chuan had killing intent!

“Give it!”

Zhao Dabao gritted his teeth and said, “Everyone, take off your equipment!”

The people of Zhao Family Village looked at each other.

In the end, they all nodded slightly and began removing their gear. Among the items were bamboo armor, seven machetes, six hunting bows, and some long poles.

The long poles were specially made.

They had many uses.

It must be said, the people of Zhao Family Village were indeed well-equipped.

Plus, they worked together and coordinated with each other!

That’s why they could move so well in the mountains.

“Good!”

Lu Chuan nodded, then paused and asked, “You can leave now. Our grudge is settled.”

“Thank you!”

Zhao Dabao’s mouth twitched. He wanted to say something threatening, but he was also a little afraid. He knew that Lu Chuan in front of him had murderous intent.

If they were even a moment slower…

They might really die here!

The people of Zhao Family Village supported each other and slowly walked away.

Li Yanjun, still surprised, looked at Lu Chuan, “Brother Chuan, you’re amazing, and your wife, how does she shoot so accurately?”

“I shoot accurately!”

“But no one shoots as well as my husband!”

At this moment, Su Ruan smiled brightly.

Lu Chuan looked at Su Ruan and immediately laughed, “I have to say, you really hit the nail on the head!”

Su Ruan didn’t quite understand, but she obediently stood to the side.

Lu Chuan took three taels of broken silver from the ten taels and handed them to Li Yanjun.

“Give this to the village chief! Tell him this is Zhao Dabao’s compensation for his losses…”

Then he took out another two taels of broken silver and handed them to Li Yanjun again, “You’ve worked hard running all over. Keep this money for yourself. Things aren’t great at home, especially with another wife!”

“Take it to the market and buy some food. Let’s just get through this year!”